


Night of Cake and Quest: An "Inky Mystery" parody of The Night of Cake and Puppets

by Tringamer360



Category: Animaniacs, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Cuphead (Video Game), Felix the Cat (Cartoon), Villainous (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 17:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18348527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tringamer360/pseuds/Tringamer360
Summary: Very late V-day Floof here!A fluffy retelling of The Night of Cake and Puppets, but with the darling Quest/Inky Mystery characters we all know and love! Many much floofiness happens on this night in February, along with much funnies and sarcasm. Have fun!Warning: Real Character/OC Ship. Just letting you all know before you read.





	1. Part 1

“I don’t know,” Gwen started uncertainly. Her spiked tail twitched.  
“Oh come on! It’s already all set!” said Alice, a huge grin on her face. Gwen shifted her weight slowly.  
“Are you sure it’ll work?” Gwen whispered. Usually she was certain of herself to the point of pure confidence. But, in all honesty, she’d never gone after a boy before.  
Gwen hugged herself. This was a whole new type of nervousness she hadn’t ever felt before. Alice giggled a little, covering her mouth. Andy gave the she-demon a soft, reassuring smile.  
“Between our Talents, brains, and determination, I’m pretty sure it’ll work,” the cat assured her, flicking a white ear. Gwen hummed. Usually “pretty sure” worked for her, but this was … different. Cala Maria gasped, causing the other three girls to jump.  
“Wait one moment!” the former-mermaid said, racing up the stairs with only a slight stumble. Gwen tilted her head. Huh. She was learning to use her legs fast. A moment later, she came back down again, stopping in front of Gwen. She held out what looked like a strange beaded necklace. “Trust me. With these, it’s gonna work,” Cala said with a smile.

* * *

 

Gwen stepped outside wearing a long black jacket and a short, lined scarf that were a contrast to her usual jeans and short brown jacket. She had opted to wear her long hair down to help keep her warm. She carefully reached into her pocket and squeezed the beads Cala had given her.  
Cala had explained that the beads were actually a type of wish called scuppies, used for small acts of magic. Even though Alice would be helping a little, Gwen felt more comfortable with these too, knowing that she now had a little more control over the situation.  
The girls had been planning this for a week, making sure that the boys didn’t ever hear them. It had been close, especially with Bendy. Who knew Gwen’s own twin could be such a pain in her spiked tail? He’d nearly caught them multiple times, and Gwen knew that if her twin had found out, he would have told the others and spoiled all their hard work.  
Bendy would have told Cuphead, and it was supposed to be a surprise.  
Gwendolyn took a deep breath, hoping that Alice had started the communication spell already. She decided to test it. So this is it, she thought to the angel.  
Alice’s reply was almost immediate. Yes! You will conquer. You are Napoleon. There was a small pause. Pre-Waterloo, of course. And much, much cuter. Gwen giggled out loud.  
So you’re saying I should … attack and conquer?  
Yes. And no. Stun him with your amazingness. After this, he will look and see his life before as a pale dream. His real life starts with you. And our plan. TONIGHT.  
Gwen couldn’t help it; she burst into laughter. Where the hell are you, you crazy madwoman?  
Outside, Alice answered. At the first stop. Waiting. Now, YOU. You’re going to have a wonderful time falling in love tonight. Go sweep an unsuspecting Cuphead off his feet. And have fun with it. The rest of us need fairytales. Crazy, realistic, surprising fairytales.  
Gwen shook her head, still smiling like crazy. The map was planted, right?  
Affirmative, cap’n, Alice joked. Now come on! Come-on-come-on! You have stunning to do!  
Okay. Gwen headed further into town, pulling out a simple sheet of paper and the wishes. Scuppies, Cala had called them. Gwen smiled.  
Time to do something absolutely crazy.

* * *

 

Cup sighed. Normally he enjoyed going out to help with supplies and all, finally getting out of that overcrowded house, but they’d been out here almost all day and his feet hurt. He was also freezing, because out of pure stupidity, he’d grabbed his lighter jacket even though it had to be, like, negative ten degrees out here.  
Snowball popped out of his hair with a “meep”, jumping down to his shoulder. He lifted a hand to pet her, smiling. Damn, this thing was just too cute. The little critter crawled carefully down his jacket and he watched curiously. What the cuss was the little thing doing? He opened that side of his jacket at Snowball’s indignant “meep!” and the tiny animal crawled in, making a weird sniffing sound. Like she was looking for something.  
She stopped at one of the pockets, sniffing inside before turning bright eyes on him and meeping.  
“What?” he asked. She meeped again, more … insistently, it seemed. He reached into the pocket.  
And his fingers brushed against paper.  
Cuphead’s eyes widened as he pulled whatever it was out. He looked at it. He was holding a rolled up paper, tied with a simple string. He stared at it for a minute.  
“Yo, Cupperoo!” Cup’s head jerked up at the call. Bendy grinned, a noticeable length away from him. Boris was at the demon’s side, per the norm. “Why’d ya stop, man?” Cup blinked without answering. He actually hadn’t realized he had.  
“What’cha got, Cuppy?” Cup flinched as his brother showed up beside him. Bendy and Boris walked back curiously.  
“Dunno,” Cup replied simply. He carefully pulled the string off and unrolled the paper. “Looks like some kinda map.”  
“Huh?” Bendy peeked over at it. Cuphead mentally noted that the pipsqueak had to stand on tiptoe to do it. Bendy scoffed. “That’s ‘cause it is a map, ya cussing dummy.” Cup shot him a quick glare while wishing he had said something about his height before looking at the paper again. Mugs pointed to the tiny words near the ‘x’ on the map.  
“What’s it say there? It’s really tiny,” he asked. Cup pulled the map closer to see. He recognized the phrase; it was in Latin.  
“C-carpe noctem,” he read out loud, stumbling over the word slightly.  
“Carpe what?” Bendy asked stupidly. Cuphead rolled his eyes.  
“Carpe noctem. Means ‘seize the night’,” Cup replied, deadpan. Boris tilted his head, dropping one ear and lifting the other.  
“You know Latin?” the wolf asked. Cup rolled his eyes again.  
“Little bit. It’s based from demon script and angel runes,” he explained offhandedly. Mugs nodded beside him. Bendy looked at Cuphead with his eyebrows raised in question, but Cup shot him a look that said “just try to ask any questions about it”. Instead, Bendy shrugged.  
“So, you gonna follow it?” the demon asked, switching topics with ease. He lifted his arms behind his head casually. Cup thought for a second. That hadn’t occurred to him yet, following the map.  
But it was a treasure map.  
For him.  
Made by who?  
He caught Bendy smirking at him, as if the little demon could see the gears turning in Cup’s head. “Go on, man,” he finally said, gesturing at the map in Cup’s hands. “You can just catch us back at the house.” Cup felt a grin break across his face. He turned on his heel, curiosity getting the best of him.  
“Thanks, man!” he called over his shoulder. He stared at the map as he went, dodging people in the streets. He slowed as he reached the small square marked on the map. He looked up.  
There weren’t many people out anymore. The sun had set a lot more than Cuphead had expected, and the gathering clouds weren’t exactly helping to light the place. The street lamps were already on. Cup looked around, back at the map, the back around the shop square again. This apparently was the place, at least that’s what the map said. But Cup was confused. What - or who - was he supposed to be finding?  
He glanced over at a flyer board and took a quick double take. Bingo. Pinned to the board was a sheet of blank white paper, contrasting starkly with the gaudy flyers. Or it was almost blank.  
Cuphead walked over to it incredulously, leaning in close to read the tiny writing in the middle of the page.  
Watch with glittering eyes  
The world around you  
Because the greatest secrets are always  
Hidden in the most unlikely places.  
Those who don’t believe in magic  
Will never find it.  
~Roald Dahl  
(P.S. I don’t know either. Dot said it to me.)  
Cup grinned. Because, even extremely tiny and almost impossible to see (seriously, microscopic here), Cuphead would recognize Gwen’s loopy but professional-looking handwriting anywhere. Which mean it had to be from her.  
Which meant the map was from her.  
Which meant Cup must be looking for her …  
Cup carefully took down the paper, turning around. He looked up from it. Alright, focus. Look around. Hard. Stop grinning stupidly.  
Where was she?  
He watched the square for a good five minutes. A small cat ran through the cold, now dark street and, Cup had to admit, he had the brief but strong impulse to follow it. But that didn’t make any sense; Gwen likely couldn’t control cats. Or didn’t know how if she did.  
Probably.  
Nothing else really stood out to Cuphead. He glanced down at the map again, walking a little in an attempt to stay warm. He was in the right place, but nothing was here. He couldn’t find anything.  
It didn’t make sense, Gwen dragging him out here for nothing. Was it one of Bendy’s pranks? Cup knew he was good, but this was purely, unforgivably evil. He’d kick the little pipsqueak’s tail from here to -  
A faint tapping sound pulled Cup from his (slightly murderous) thoughts. He towards the source of the noise, a little puppet shop on a corner. He tentatively approached it, staring wide-eyed in the window.  
There, visible by both the streetlights and what seemed to be dull lamplight inside, hung a noticeably well-crafted marionette.  
A devil marionette. Kicking the window.  
Cup laughed. This was crazy! He really should have noticed it. He carefully opened the door, a rush of warm air greeting him. Ah, warmth! Finally out of the cold, he looked around. No one seemed to be here, even though Cup assumed that someone was, because how else does a puppet move? The puppet. Cup made his way towards it, being cautious of the other marionettes around him. It had fallen still now, having caught his attention. Cup lifted it, lifted him, off the window frame by the crossbar.  
Noticeably different from the other, more toy-like puppets in here, Cup had to admit it wasn’t all that far off of a representation of his boss. The marionette wore a small jacket, a tiny note in the chest pocket catching Cuphead’s eye. He slid it out carefully. Again in Gwen’s handwriting was the phrase carpe diabolus.  
Huh. Seize the devil. Interesting.  
This puppet obviously had to be for Cuphead now, even if the tapping with no one moving it had left any room for doubt. He stood there for a moment, dumbstruck as the full experience of what just happened and was might come washed over him. How did she do it? This was obviously planned, so what was next? Was there going to be a ‘next’? How did the puppet move?  
Might as well get the answer to one question, at least. Cup tilted the marionette, intending to look for some kinda mechanism or something, when something inside of it shifted as well. His eyes widened and he unbuttoned to little coat.  
The body underneath was a … wire birdcage. Inside of it sat a tiny bird on a swing, resting where the heart would be, and a folded paper butterfly. No wires or mechanisms. Holy cussing stars, it moved on its own.  
No, wait. Logic, Cups. Remember logic. There was some way it moved. There had to be some way it moved. He opened the birdcage and gently removed the paper butterfly. He looked at it, tilted it, trying to find writing of some sort. Finally he decided to try unfolding it (which sucked because it was actually kinda pretty and he had no clue how to fold it back), when it gave a strange tug of … will? … and disengaged from his hand.  
And flew.  
Its wings beat a couple times, making it move in a small, graceful spiral upward before floating back down. Cup watched it in awe, catching it carefully in one hand.  
Cuphead stared. How … how did it - she - do that? He brushed his fingers over it, searching for some kinda string that maybe he didn’t find before. Nothing. There was really only one other explanation for it.  
Magic.  
It explained the marionette, too. Something welled up inside Cups, a childish excitement. His head felt light and … strangely glittery. In a good way. He unfolded the butterfly eagerly but gently. He had a feeling that the paper it was made of was specifically for the purpose of folding things. Inside was another small map, this time hand-drawn, and a riddle.  
On the opposite shore  
With Excited grace  
My counterpart impatiently waits.  
Okay, riddle. He was good at riddles, most of the time. Opposite shore, opposite shore, opposite shore … water … river? Did it mean the stream that ran through the city and connected to the ocean? Cuphead pulled out the other map of the city and looked at them both side-by-side. Now that he thought about it, the stream wasn’t that far off, running through the eastern side of the city and creating a weird separation. So there was that.  
On “Excited grace”, Cup came up blank. The e was capitalized and underlined, so that had to be important.  
“My counterpart impatiently waits” … that could mean two things. It could mean Gwen’s counterpart, but Cuphead didn’t know who that would be. Bendy, maybe? It would make sense, since he was her twin. Was he in on this? He did encourage Cup to follow the map, so …  
The other option was the devil’s counterpart, which Cup assumed would mean an angel. God might be another choice, but that seemed a little too abstract, even for this. Cup looked at the maps again, searching for some sort of angel-based or themed area. Nothing.  
Oh, well. Cup would just have to follow the little map. It showed a street with another tiny x marking it. A new destination.  
Cup left the shop, carrying the devil marionette with him gently. He startled when a small snowflake landed on his nose. Oh. It had started to snow. Though he usually hated the cold (and snow sometimes), his mind was working childishly now, and the snow seemed to make everything that much more amazing.  
He grinned at the sight and set off.

* * *

 

Gwen popped up from her hiding place, the roof of a building across the street from the marionette shop. Her heart started a strange, giddy race.  
He came.  
More importantly, he left, assumingly to go to the next place. To find her.  
Her face wasn’t pink from just cold anymore.  
She climbed down swiftly, like second nature. It practically was, anyway. “Alice,” she called quietly. No response. “Alice!” The angel peeked out from behind another building and headed towards the demon.  
“That was amazing!” she squealed with a giggle. “We totally stunned him!” Alice twisted her lips into a wry smile. “Your face is red.” Gwen ducked her head.  
“He seemed … excited. Or dazzled,” she mumbled happily. She watched her hair, the same color as Alice’s but about twice as long (that was saying something since Alice’s hair already reached close to her waist, and Alice was a full half a head taller than Gwen) and sheet-straight, fluttered in the cold wind. Snow swirled around the two girls. Gwen spoke up slightly louder. “Don’t you think he looked dazzled?”  
Alice’s eyes met hers. The angel’s smile widened. “Definitely. Cuphead was definitely dazzled. How could he not be?” Gwen lifted her head. Alice’s dark eyes glittered in the streetlights. “You ensorcelled him.”  
“We,” Gwen corrected quietly. “And yeah. Thanks for the puppet by the way.” Gwen turned a skeptical gaze on the angel. “Mind explaining your choice?” Gwen wasn’t angry or anything, but with Alice being an angel and it being a devil puppet …  
Alice shrugged, aware of the amusement in Gwen’s voice. “Seemed fitting for some reason,” she said offhandedly. She shot Gwen her own skeptical look. “The butterfly?”  
“Confirmation. I felt like it was saying ‘Oh you think this is a trick? So how am I doing this, smart guy?’” Gwen paused, looking back over at Alice. The angel’s skeptical look had changed to a smirk, her eyebrows raised. Gwen stuffed her cold, gloved hands into her pockets sheepishly. “He’s one of those people who needs it,” she mumbled, her face heating. Alice giggled.  
How’s it going? Gwen jumped as Andy’s voice rang out in her head.  
“What the - ”  
“It’s okay!” Alice cut Gwen off. “I added Andy and Cala into the communication spell.”  
“Oh.”  
We’re doing great here. Phase One a success, Alice replied to Andy.  
Great! Cala Maria sounded excited. Gwen smiled, silently thanking her for the scuppies. Without them, Gwen didn’t know how she would’ve gotten the butterfly to fly.  
We’ll keep you two posted, the demon reassured. Alice released the spell and the two girls headed off, two dark-haired, coat-clad figures in the snowy white night.

* * *

 

“So if we’re creep-ing, does that make us creep-y?” Alice asked. “Or are there dispensations for romance?”  
The two were hiding behind buildings again, this time across the street from a little cafe. Edgar’s Cafe, to be exact. Gwen shook off memories and shrugged.  
“Dunno. I bet all stalkers think their being romantic,” Gwen answered. Alice giggled.  
“I did it for love, officer,” the angel added in a funny accent, making Gwen laugh, too. When they finally got control of themselves, they both turned their heads to look across the street at the cafe. “You think he’s in there?”  
Gwen paused. “Go check,” the demon replied.  
“What? Why me?”  
“You have a hood.”  
Alice sighed. “Fine.” Flipping her hood up over her hair, she quickly walked towards the building, looking inside. “Yup!” she called. “He’s in there.”  
“With the angel puppet?” Gwen stepped out from behind the building and slowly walked towards Alice.  
“Yes.” Alice turned to face her. “Third note’s in the sugar, right?”  
“Not gonna be in the tea,” Gwen responded with a little sarcasm. She looked in, Hoping Cup wouldn’t see the two of them. He was facing the new marionette with a grin, like it was a friend saving a seat for him. Gwen noticed the devil puppet was with him; he held it carefully in his lap. She smiled. Time for the sparkler. She reached in her pocket and held a scuppy, wishing for the sparkler to first appear.  
Hopefully, it wasn’t too obvious. The angel puppet already had a heart shaped candle in the similarly shaped hole where its heart would be, just like the devil one had a bird. Gwen had simply wished for the sparkler to appear in the candle, so she could light it magically with another scuppy.  
Which she was about to do. She and Alice watched intently as she made the wish. Inside, the angel puppet’s heart ignited, turning its heart into a mini-firework. Oh stars, Wiston woulda loved this part.  
Cup jerked back in surprise, then laughed in amazement. Gwen sighed silently, her breath making a small white puff in the air. It was adorable, that amazement. Gwen knew Cuphead believed in magic - he’d seen too much of it not to - but this type? He acted like it was entirely new to him. She smiled. You see all of these fairytale stories? she thought. Well, now one’s happening to you. Gwen couldn’t actually see the sparkler from the window, but she hoped it looked fancy.  
“So what’s your plan?” Alice piped up, startling Gwen out of her thoughts. She turned to the angel.  
“You know the plan. We’ve worked on it all week -”  
“No! Not that plan!” Both girls winced at the volume of Alice’s voice. “What are you going to do when you get to the park?” She clarified, lowering her voice. The park was supposed to be the final phase, and Gwen … hadn’t exactly worked out all of the details. Maybe a few … unspoken ones. Gwen bit here lip, turning her light eyes downward at the thin layer of fluffy snow that was starting to cover everything.  
“Well … there’s the ice orb,” the demon started slowly. “I … assumed we’d just talk for a while, like we usually do. Probably go inside somewhere. Maybe find reasons to use the last two scuppies.” Not a total lie, though there was one unspoken thought. Alice seemed to see right through it, apparently.  
“Riiiiiiiight. Come on, that can’t be all,” she begged, rolling her eyes. Gwen felt uncomfortable. How did other girls deal with girl talk? The two were quiet for a moment. “Do you think he might kiss you?” Gwen froze, her face flushing.  
“Wha-! No! I mean - uh!” Dammit, she didn’t have a way to pull away from the topic! She hadn’t thought of it! Curse Alice’s observation skills and ability to read emotions! Dammit, dammit, dammit! Alice burst into giggles.  
“Oh, it’s cute! You totally want him too!” she squealed. Gwen hid her face in her hands and screamed, muffling the sound. “That’s soooooo adorable!”  
Gwen pulled her face out of her hands and crossed her arms, giving Alice the Glare of Death. “That’s not at all what I said.” Alice calmed down.  
“It’s what your emotions said,” she stated simply, giving the demon a reassuring smile. “And I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.”  
“Yeah, yeah.” Gwen rolled her eyes. She looked back out at the snow, her smile softening. “You know, I haven’t actually planned for it …” she lied before looking at her boots and blushing. “ … but it wouldn’t be a bad ending to the night.” Alice gasped.  
“What?!?” she squealed. Alright, decision to speak automatically regretted.  
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Gwen responded, her subject changing skills kicking back in. Alice frowned.  
“No fair … but yes.” She sighed. “Oh well … guess I’ll just have to hear about it when you tell me later.” She grinned evilly and started for the park.  
“Hey, Alice!” Gwen called. She watched as the angel turned around. The demon smirked. “Be careful in case Bendy tries to steal a kiss again.” Alice’s dark eyes narrowed.  
“Oh you better prepare for the puns to be comin’ at ’cha when you show up in a few minutes,” she warned jokingly. Gwen laughed and turned away from the angel. The demon looked at the snow with a smile.  
Unlike Cuphead, she loved snow. More than any words could say. Snow was, at least for her, an omen, which sounded like it would be bad, as omen was typically prefixed with bad, but this was good. A good omen. Snow meant luck. Snow meant magic.  
Which was uncannily perfect for tonight.  
Maybe that could be a topic for the park, getting Cup to believe her “snow is a good luck charm” philosophy. At her mind’s mention of Cup, she looked over through the window-  
\- to see Cup heading her way, towards the door! He didn’t seem to notice her yet, which was a good thing. For now. He carried the angel marionette in one arm and the devil on in the other. Gwen had approximately three seconds to vanish into thin air before he opened the door.  
That, or dive behind a conveniently located flowerpot.  
The Warners would really be proud of that one.  
Gwen listened as the door opened and shut. Footsteps crunched across the snow and away from her. Once they sounded far enough away, Gwen sighed, concluding two things. One, hiding like this definitely maybe possibly constituted as the type of stalker behavior she and Alice were joking about earlier.  
Two, Cup was currently en route to the final location, where Gwen actually had to show up. Physically. She swore her heart dropped a couple beats, stuttering.  
Do I have to? she thought nervously. Dread was starting to catch up to her and push away her excitement.  
No no no! Alice’s voice rang clearly in her head. You can do this! Ignore Dread. Focus on Excitement. And get over here before he does! Ah, Gwen really loved her best friend. The demon stood up and shook her head to clear it. Right. No Dread. Bad Dread. Gwen imagined hitting it on the head with pan or a baseball bat or something and knocking it out.  
Okay. Go. Now. Leave Dread lying there. Go fast, before it can get up and see which way she went. Gen breathed carefully, looking in the direction Cuphead went. He would end up either seeing her or getting there before her if she went the same way.  
Gwen looked upward, towards the rooftops. Fortunately, she had a shortcut.  
A few moments later Gwen was racing across the roofs of the town, moving with cautious but practiced speed. The park Gwen had in mind wasn’t far, but it was far enough for her to get there first if she hurried. She and Alice had seen it a few days before, decorated with lights for the winter. All she had to do now was get there and talk to him.  
Did she know what she was going to say?  
Oh, hell.  
Dread was running to catch up. Gwen went to her (not really) guardian angel. Alice? Urgent assistance required. Words. First line. Some adorable, quirky one-liner that’ll make him laugh and keep me from ruining all of this.  
Gwen slowed down as she got closer. Alice answered fast. Okay, first? I very much doubt that you could ruin what we’ve done. We brought to life a crazy dream that not even he could come up with. Second? First line comes when it comes. No other way around it.  
The demon frowned at the answer. Ya got nothing?  
She heard Alice sigh in her head. I did have a few, but they only would’ve worked if you didn’t already know him.  
It was Gwen’s turn to sigh. Yeah. She entered the park, taking a moment to smile at the frozen fountain and fairy lights hanging down from high in the trees. Gwen had absolutely no clue how people got them up there. “I’m here,” she said out loud. Alice popped up from a snow- covered bench.  
“Oh, thank goodness! I was worried you weren’t going to get here in time!” the angel gasped, relieved. Gwen nodded.  
“Snow orb?” she asked. In response, Alice pointed to a low tree branch where it was hanging, the fairy lights glittering off its surface. “Good.”  
The girls hid behind the fountain, just barely out of sight. Or, Alice was just barely out of sight. Gwen was a bit better hidden, but she wasn’t going into that right now.  
And then he was there.  
Both simultaneously covered their mouths to hide their breathing as footsteps walked slowly closer. Gwen expected him to stop or sit down or something, but he seemed to keep moving, walking around the area. What was he doing? Alice shared a confused look with her. For a split second, Gwen thought about standing up.  
The the footsteps headed away.  
She and Alice shared another look, this one wide-eyed with shock, and slid out from their hiding place once the footsteps were gone. “What just happened?” Alice asked. Gwen looked around. Her eyes landed on the puppets, the on Cup’s footprints in the snow. Her heart sank, feeling like the angel puppet’s now empty heart hole. But without the sparkler.  
So very without the sparkler.  
“He’s gone,” Gwen whispered, staring at the marionettes on the bench, sitting side by side. How mean, to set them like that. Gwen never would’ve guessed Cup would be mean about something like this. A hand touched her shoulder.  
“No … why would he do that?” Alice asked in confusion. Gwen wondered as well. Why go along, looking all excited and adorable, and just leave? Inside, Gwen felt disappointed. Mortified. And humiliated.  
Gwen hated humiliation. She wanted to kick humiliation in its measly toothpick shins.  
“But he took the orb …” Alice was still wondering out loud. “Why would he follow all of this and ditch it now?” Gwen didn’t respond.  
Hey, we have a couple of conversation starters if you still need them, a very far behind Andy offered. Gwen bit her lip.  
Sorry, but no, the demon answered, surprisingly quiet even in her head.  
W-what? Why? Cala asked.  
“Cause he left!” Alice exclaimed, both in thoughts and out loud.  
Cala again: Uh?  
… he ran away … or walked … Gwen replied, unable to suppress her disappointment. Alice growled, mad now.  
“Jerk,” the angel muttered, her temper getting the best of her. Her voice grew louder as she spoke. “Maybe I would've put up with this if it were me, but you don’t deserve it!” She looked at Gwen. The demon lifted her shoulders and shrank back in self-pity, for the most part ignoring Alice’s outrage.  
I’m so sorry … Cala sympathized. Gwen wished she were here to hug.  
Gwen, that makes no sense. Andy, unlike the other girls, was calm, collected, logical. Are you sure he didn’t leave behind a note or anything? Gwen paused, considering the cat’s question. A note? She glanced at Alice, who seemed to stop, too. Hope flickered in Gwen’s heart hole.  
Heart hole.  
“Heart hole!” Gwen gasped, excitement filling her once again. She pushed herself up off the fountain edge she’d been sitting on and headed for the marionettes.  
“What?” Alice asked. Gwen spun around, holding the angel likeness.  
“The angel’s heart hole!” Gwen carefully reached inside … and there was a rolled up piece of paper. She unrolled it and, in a second, all of her disappointment, mortification, and humiliation melted away, giddiness, relief, thrill, and delight (along with possibly swoon, but Gwen hadn’t ever actually swooned before in all of her eighteen years of living) replaced it.  
“What is it?” Alice asked, apparently calmed by Gwen’s newfound good mood.  
“It’s his version of our map,” the demon replied, the grin on her face permanently stuck. It was starting to hurt a little, smiling this much. Alice looked over her shoulder and gasped.  
“Oh my stars.” Alice hugged her. “He’s flipped the game onto us!” Alice exclaimed while giggling. Gwen giggled too, looking down at the note written above the hastily drawn map.  
Docks. 20 minutes.  
P.S. Walk slowly.  
The only two things that confused Gwen now was the fact that here was no x on this map, unlike all three of hers. No specific location. Also, the twenty minutes part of the note. What was he up to? Intriguing…  
Uh, hello? Andy asked. Gwen wanted to squeal (definitely not her usual MO) and hug her, but she decided to handle it a little more calmly.  
You are a genius and my new hero. There’s a note! Alice, however, did add a squeal after Gwen answered. There was a long pause, only broken by Cala’s response squeal.  
After a few moments, Andy’s response came. Who is this and what have you done to Gwen? A snicker punctuated the question and Gwen so wished Andy could see the deadpan look on her face.  
Don’t you sunblazing dare mock me right now. Cala and Alice burst into laughter.  
That’s more like the Gwen I know, Andy said, er, thought, sounding way too smug. Gwen rolled her eyes with a sigh and a smile.


	2. Part 2

Gwen walked along the docks, wondering where the actual hell Cuphead was. It had taken most of the twenty minutes to convince Alice to  _ go  _ the _ cuss _ home, for Yen Sid’s sake, because even if there was a new slight detour, they were still following the plan for Gwen to meet Cup  _ alone _ .

It was only when Gwen, lost thinking about this, almost tripped over one did she see them.

Candles.

Half-buried in the snow, drops of liquid wax melting the soft and fluffy flakes a little. And strangely lit by red-orange flames that should have looked right but somehow didn’t until it hit Gwen that Cup probably lit them with his fingers. Gwen laughed. She never would’ve expected something like this from him, and yet here it was and it was strangely  _ right _ . She also marveled that the snowflakes hadn’t put them out yet.

           She smiled, straightening up, as she looked at the slightly wavy trail of candles leading down the walkway. It drew her forward, the light becoming a magnet that tugged at her heart and soul (yes, she did just say  _ soul _ ), each pulling her in and passing her off to the next and in that moment she was so grateful that it wasn’t any ordinary person she’d fallen for, and not even one with an imagination, but  _ Cuphead _ , whose mind worked in crazy, sometimes wonderful ways that could either result in disaster … or  _ this _ .

           She followed the trail to a concrete wall, topped with an iron fence, where a candle sat flickering calmly. Her spiked tail twitched curiously and she stood carefully on tiptoe ( _ not _ discussing the reason) to peer down through the bars.

           And there he was, down on the narrow dock beside the wall. It was noticeably far down, but Gwen ignored that fact, instead focusing on the amazement in front of her. Cuphead was turned half away from her, balancing perfectly on one of the wooden posts used to keep the dock up. He was wearing his heavier jacket, a noticeable change from earlier that evening, and his hands were in his pockets, the collar signaturely turned up. The snowy wind would occasionally pick up his hair, playing with it lightly, but Cup didn’t seem to react to it at all. More candles were scattered down on the dock, creating a warm, low light, and with Cup just sitting there, a calm, cool smile on his face, and the water glinting, black and quiet, and the  _ snow _ … 

           This was  _ definitely _ a good omen.

           Other people, the few passersby there were, had stopped, too, staring at the softly lit pathway with the same wonderous awe Gwen felt.

            “Excuse me,” Gwen said to a nearby couple, a salamander and a graceful-looking frog. They started slightly, then gave Gwen gentle smiles. She gestured to the wall. “Could you help me up please?” The overall height, mixed with the pointy iron finials, discouraged what Gwen planned to do, but the couple didn’t try to dissuade her. Instead, the salamander walked over and made a stirrup with his hands, pushing her up high enough to balance on the wall. She turned to the two carefully. “Thank you,” she whispered. They nodded in return, the frog lifting her hand in a small wave. Gwen turned back and climbed over the iron fencing and was just about to try and drop down to the dock when Cuphead looked up at her.

             Their eyes met.

             Cup smiled, sweet and glad and almost amazed, and Gwen couldn’t stop her own smile from breaking across her face. He slid gracefully off the wooden post and walked towards her, and she could’ve  _ sworn _ her heart stopped. At least for a second.

There was, however, a bit of a problem: Gwen was sitting on top of the wall with Cup on the walkway below. The end result? He was about level with her feet. She was trying to think (sluggishly, and  _ gosh _ how did normal people do this?) of how to get down without looking stupid or hurting herself or both (at this point it was possible, even with Gwen’s usual agility) when she realized that the weird glowy lighthouse feeling she felt like she was emitting was actually her blushing. Head to toe. He was too, not head to toe like Gwen thought she was but soft and gentle across the bridge of his nose and his face. She almost wanted to giggle. It very nearly matched his actual nose.

He brushed his hair out of his eye, still smiling. “Hey,” he breathed, full of awe.

“Hey, you,” she replied. She glanced down at the ground and back up to him again. “Help me down?” she asked with a sheepish shrug. He nodded and reached for her. She tipped forward, catching his shoulders as he caught her, setting her down gently. Simple and neat.

There was a long pause.

It wasn’t bad, though. It was like the two were just enjoying the moment, letting themselves slow down after the events from earlier. Gwen was still trying to take in everything, to be honest.

Cup broke the silence. “I got your note. Notes,” he said, correcting himself.

           “I got yours, too.”

           “I can’t draw.” He was talking a little too fast. Gwen knew from it that he was just as nervous as she was.

           “But you did this,” Gwen countered. “It’s … beautiful.” She shook her head. “That’s such an understatement. Sublime might be closer, but that just sounds too pretentious.”

           Cup shook his head, humble. “It’s nothing. I mean, it’s not  _ nothing _ , but it is compared to what you did. That had to be one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me.”

           “What? Me running you all over town in the snow?” It was Gwen’s turn to act humble, even though she knew it was pretty cool. She was  _ well _ aware.

           As was Cuphead. “Yeah, like that’s all it was. I seriously don’t even know how you did some of that stuff.” He paused. “Don’t tell me though. I wanna keep believing it was magic.”

           Gwen shrugged. “It  _ was  _ magic,” she stated simply. He nodded.

“I believe it,” he replied. He smiled at the ground. “Admittedly, this is kinda how I imagined your life before …” He waved a hand. “ … this.”

Gwen paused. Considered. Unpaused. “You imagined my life before?”

“Yeash,” Cup said with a bashful shrug. “I kinda imagined you doing, like, secret arrends over rooftops, or vanishing through trapdoors that only leave behind traces of silver dust.” He laughed quietly, nervously. “Some of that’s from Mugs talking about it to me.” It hit Gwen that he really didn’t know that much about her life pre-Ink Machine Quest. And that he maybe thought she was mysterious? Kinda? Yes. Yeah, he did. Wow.

It was, hands down, one of the best compliments she’d ever gotten. She contemplated telling him the truth - her life really wasn’t that much different from now, just with more “holy stars, run for your life” and sword use (occasionally) - but she didn’t. She like this being-mysterious business. It was interesting. “Silver dust?” she inquired.

He shrugged again. “Blame my unusual upbringing,” was all he answered with.

“Okay,” she said, going with it. Silver dust.  _ That could be arranged _ , she thought, because a scuppy could probably handle that just fine. Then the intimacy of the topic struck her.  _ His upbringing. _ Cup really didn’t like to talk about it, so all she knew was that he was from a set of islands out at sea and that he and Mugman had apparently “spent some time” living with Black Hat. She wondered if he’d talk about it more. “Silver dust pretty unexpected,” she continued, hoping he’d say more.

“Yeah. You’re kinda like that, ya know?” he said, leaving behind the mention of his childhood. “Unexpected.” He glanced out over the water really quick. “And tonight was like that. Amazing. And I … didn’t just wanna follow along.

“Wait. What? But you seemed like you were having fun. Like you were enjoying it.”

“Yeah, I did. I am. But I didn’t  _ just _ wanna follow. I … wanted to do something, too. Contribute something. To this.” Cup waved his hand, indicating the entire scene around them (and them, but Gwen tried not to focus too much on it) before his hand dropped back into his pocket and his shoulders lifted. “Not that it’s much. It’s the best I could do spur-of-the-moment.”

“It’s great,” Gwen said quickly, ignoring her mind’s question of  _ this is what he can do with just a few moments? _ “It’s totally silver dust. I didn’t expect it at all.” She refused to mention her despair breakdown at the park, or Alice’s anger, or her stupidity in not thinking of a note.

“Good.” Cup’s smile dropped and his light eyes flicked up to meet hers again. “I hope I didn’t hijack your plans.”

She grinned. “Trust me, this is way better than my plans after the run-him-all-over-town part.” He smiled at her again. The only other major part of her plan was the ice orb. Where  _ was _ that thing, anyway? For a moment she worried that Cup’d already melted it and read the message inside, and her heart skittered a little. “Do you, um, have that ice orb?”

“Oh. Yeah. I do.” He snapped upright, and Gwen belatedly realized that he’d been leaning closer to her. Her face heated a little more. Cup shot her an adorable grin and swept an arm out dramatically. “This way, my lady,” he joked, and Gwen bit her lip. He really could be too adorable sometimes. She headed towards him.

Hmm. What was this? She walked past Cup and towards the end of the dock, where she found … more silver dust.

Not literally.

There was a small boat tied to the end of the dock, swaying gently in the dark water. In the most delightful and unexpected tableau, it was set up for tea. Gwen laughed, recognizing the tea tray at once as belonging to Edgar’s. A silver tea set, to white china cups (oh, the irony), and there was the ice orb glittering, and also … a bakery box. A bakery box. Oh holy stars, Gwen was starving. And freezing. And tea … and a bakery box … in a rowboat … Gwen looked and Cuphead in awe. “How did you - ?”

“The twenty minutes,” he replied. “You’ve seen me run. But anyway, I couldn’t have done it if that crazy spider guy wasn’t one of your biggest fans. I highly doubt he would let that stuff out the door for anyone but you.”

“Edgar? Yeah. Well, he might’ve done it for Andy. I’ve stopped there a lot over the years. Edgar’s practically half-adopted me. And he can be a  _ little _ … protective.”

“A  _ little _ ?” Cup turned a skeptical look on her. “He gave me this ten-second silent stare, and I’m pretty sure that if my intentions weren’t honorable, my face would’ve melted off.”

Gwen bit her lip again. Yup, that sounded like the former Butcher Gang member all right. She found herself hoping that Cup’s intentions were slightly, mildly dishonorable. Alice apparently had gotten both of the girls’ hopes for that kiss, as it turned out. “I’m glad your face didn’t melt,” she said softly. Cup shot her a grin.

“Me too.” He nodded towards the boat. “Tea?”

“Of course.”

There was a little ladder at the end of the pier and Gwen climbed down it first. She scrambled carefully into the boat, trying not to set it rocking and spill the tea. She was light anyway, so it really didn’t move much until Cuphead climbed down after her.

‘So the tea’s from Edgar’s,” she started, which made sense. It actually was pretty close by. “What about the boat?”

“Well.” He handed her a cup, still steaming. Oh, thank the stars. He glanced over his shoulder real quick before turning back slightly to answer her. “Let’s just say, we should probably keep it tied up where it is.”

Gwen took a sip of tea (heaven!) and set the cup down. It was starting to burn her hands. “I see,” she said, resting her shin in her hand. She grinned mischievously. “So we don’t have permission to be here.”

He sighed, rolling his eyes. “Not exactly. Look, I only had an extra twenty minutes. I kinda scrambled.” Gwen giggled and he tapped the bakery box with a smile. “Cake?”

_ Cake. _ As subject changes go, Gwen believed it was a good one. She hesitated, her brain going into slight overdrive. To eat or not to eat, that was now the question.

She shook her head slightly to clear it. Damn Warners. “Yes, please,” she piped up. Who could ever turn down cake, of all things? Inside the box was a small cake, whole, it’s chocolate so dark it looked almost black.  _ Oh, chocolate.  _ Thank the stars, sun, and moon. If Cup’d brought  _ non _ -chocolate cake, Gwen would’ve had to give him a demerit. They didn’t have forks or plates, so they ate with their teaspoons, Gwen taking the first bite. She almost gasped. “Holy heel weasels,” she muttered, covering her mouth. Cup laughed.

“What?”

“This chocolate is so damn pure it should be given a spot of the periodic table.” Cup laughed harder. “Ch. It’s not even taken.” He doubled over, resting his forehead in one hand. Gwen smiled, giggling herself.

The boat swayed softly. Gwen's feet were freezing now, but the tea warmed her, along with the seemingly permanent blush across her face. She was okay (so much  _ more _ than okay) even though it was February in Toon Town and only crazy people would sit in a boat eating cake in a snowstorm.

Because: oh. The snow was coming down much thicker now. Both Gwen and Cuphead looked up and around, like:  _ huh _ . It fell in great downy billows, and it melted when it hit the water, like sugar in coffee. The coffee would be diabetic coma-inducing, because it would be  _ a lot _ of sugar. On the rooftops, on the dock, even on the cake - it was piling up fast.

Cuphead was the one to make the decision to ignore it. “So, how long have you been planning this?” he asked, looking at Gwen with some sort of determination to ignore the blizzard. He took another bite of cake.

“We,” Gwen corrected before taking another bite as well. Cuphead’s eyebrows raised in confusion. “I may or may not have had a crazy angel, your brother’s girlfriend,and a 13-year-old genius cat to help me.” Cup’s eyes narrowed almost playfully.

“Cheater. How long?”

“A week.” Cup rolled his eyes with a grin.

“Cheater.” Gwen stuck her tongue out at him smugly, holding her teacup, then flinched when a giant cold snowflake landed on it. Cup broke down laughing again and Gwen glared at him before laughing too, loving how much he was enjoying this.

And they continued, occasionally pausing as one or both laughed. Gwen noticed that their conversation started out totally normal before taking a weird turn. On account of the ice orb.

Ah, yes. The ice orb.

Because, while Gwen wasn’t paying attention to it (because, hello, she was payingattetion to the sweet and adorable, if slightly sarcastic, cupman who lead her to the dock with magically lit candles and brought her  _ chocolate _ cake), it rolled up to rest against the hot teapot and … melted, and … yielded up its message.

Ready or not.

* * *

 

Cuphead was really cold. Like, really really cold. The tea did help a little (probably one of his best ideas ever), but it was getting silly, staying out here. At some point it would go from silly in a good way to silly in a ‘we’re-going-to-be-found-like-this-in-the-morning-with-our-smiles-frozen-on-our-blue-faces’ way. He decided that the tea would be their hourglass. When they ran out or it got too cold (whichever happened first), it would be time to go. But at the moment the tea was still hot, so it was still good silly. A story they’d tell at some point.

Sitting in a snowstorm eating cake. Good story.

It really was good so far, minus the freezing. He kept wondering how it was gonna keep going. If Gwen was gonna pull something else sweet and crazy (because at this point, he seriously wouldn’t be too surprised). How all of this was gonna end. He was kinda starting to wonder if she would let him kiss her again.

He had before. Twice if her kissing him really fast right after the first time counted. But … that had kinda started a weird silence between them, a really weird awkwardness. It took forever for them to be ‘normal’ again and even then, it wasn’t the same.

He missed teasing her and joking with her.

In abstract, walking around the city with Gwen’s notes and maps in his pockets and the puppets in his arms, it was easy for Cuphead not to be such an adult. Or a guy. It was almost childish, innocent, like some insane fairytale. But with the two of them sitting  _ right there _ , his looking at her, there were … impulses. Weird ones he hadn’t dealt with before.

He kinda kept wanting to reach over and touch her face.

Hell. That was one he had to keep pushing away from. Sometimes she’d shiver and he wanted to pull her over closer to see if it helped.

_ Cut it out. _

Cup flicked at his hair, releasing a long breath and hoping Gwen didn’t notice. He couldn’t be the only person who had to deal with this, no way.

And, of course, his mind kept wandering back to that other kiss and he couldn’t help wondering - 

_ Cup? Head. Gutter. Outta it. _

He took a deep breath, reasserting his better nature. Okay. He was good. It was good. All good. This entire time they’d been talking, and it was so easy and natural. Gwen was witty and quick and rolled into random things that had such weird ties with the rest of the conversation. She slowly made all of it bigger and weirder and more fun. Cuphead could easily say it was one of the best conversations he’d ever had with anyone. He’d probably laughed more during it than he had in … a long time. She’d actually gone so far as to bring up the fact that they were drinking out of the exact object his head was. He really couldn’t retaliate to that.

Cup reached for the teapot to refill their cups for the last time - the hourglass was up, the tea was cold - and that’s when he noticed; the mysterious ball of ice Gwen had hung in the park was now half-puddle. The side against the teapot was now flat, and the capsule inside partially stuck out.

“Oh.” When he picked it up her heard Gwen breathe in sharply, going still, and he wondered what was in it. He looked inquiringly at her. She was biting her lip. Nervous. “Should I open it?” he asked, and she didn’t answer right away.

Now Cup was really curious. Her light eyes considered him in silence - and more silence, and more - and he thought that maybe they flickered amber at some point. He got this really uncomfortable feeling that she could see all of the weird impulses he had tried to block out of his head, and then - silence, silence, silence - she slowly nodded.

“Okay?” Cup held up the partial ice orb with the little tube sticking out of it. Gwen nodded again.

“Okay,” she murmured, her eyes still and clear and watchful. On him. This was clearly important to her.

Cuphead already couldn’t feel his fingers, and freeing the tube the rest of the way deadened them to the point that they felt like prosthetics. The whole time he fumbled with it, the silence between them got thicker and deeper, like the snow.

Finally he managed to get the message out. He unrolled and read it.

_ Carpe puella. _

Seize. Seize the something. Damn. Cuphead didn’t know what puella meant. He kinda had a pretty good idea, but it wasn’t like he spoke fluent Latin.  _ Noctem _ and  _ diabolus _ had been easy for him (for  _ him _ ), but he didn’t know now. “Um,” he managed.

Gwen was still staring at him with the intensity of a mind reader. Her jaw clenched slightly. Cuss, he was really screwing this up.

I, uh, … um, I don’t know fluent Latin,” he admitted. As soon as he said it, the tension seemed to evaporate from Gwen.

“Oh!” She gave a little nervous laugh. “Sorry. I was afraid it might be too obscure.” The phrase startled Cuphead. Did  _ Gwen _ know fluent Latin? Before he could ask, she reached for the paper. “Here.” He handled it over and she pulled a pen out of her pocket, wrote something new on it, and solemnly handed it over.

Now it read  _ carpe puella Gwendolyn _ .

He swallowed. “That’s what I hoped it meant,” he said slowly. A small smirk grew on his face. “But if  _ puella _ meant, like,  _ sandwich _ or  _ bike _ or something, it coulda been pretty damn embarrassing.” 

There was a heavy pause from Gwen, long enough for Cuphead’s smile to drop and for him to realize  _ oh stardust that was the wrong way to respond _ , before she said, calmly, “I’m pretty sure there aren’t any Latin words for  _ sandwich _ or  _ bike _ . I mean, did the Romans even have sandwiches and bikes?”

“Well, sandwiches. There have always been sandwiches. Since the dawn of time there have been sandwiches,” Cup answered without thinking.  _ What the actual hell was he saying? _ Was he just supposed to lean across and reach for her? “I dunno about bikes, though.”

“I don’t think they had bikes,” Gwen continued. “Just unicycles.”

“Unicycles.” Cup wanted to reach fro her, but it seemed so abrupt, like the timing wasn’t right. “I didn’t know that. Did their togas get caught in the spokes?”

“All the time. There’s even a mosaic of it in Pompeii.” Cup had to laugh at that.

And there they were, talking about Roman unicycles and sandwich history, while a big mistake hung between them.

_ HIS EPIC FAILURE TO CARPE. _

Cuphead didn’t know what was wrong. It couldn’t be that he locked away those impulses. Gwen deserved more than impulses. She technically, by Cup’s own standards, deserved more than someone like him, but this was supposed to be a happy night. He didn’t want to think about that. Instead … “Can I borrow your pen?” he asked.

Gwen nodded and handed it over. Cup bent over the paper and wrote:  _ i’d really like to  _ carpe _ you, but I think I’ll try to surprise you, though. If that’s okay. Also, I can’t feel my face and hands. _

He handed the messy note to Gwen, who laughed when she read it. “Maybe it’s time to go,” she suggested.

Definitely. Definitely time to go. The two got out of the boat, wrangling the tea tray with absolutely no grace (well, none from him, but for some reason he always thought Gwen was graceful, in a fighter’s way). Cup helped Gwen up the ladder first before following, and it was on the docks when Cup was gathering the now-put-out candles, or what was left of the things, that he saw … something completely crazy.

All evening, ever since  _ carpe diabolus _ , Cuphead’s rational sense had been lying on its back making snow angels while his hopeful sense sat on its chest humming as he let himself play this game of magic. But it was still a game, in a way. He had kinda believed it, but now he  _ did _ . It was no longer suspension of disbelief but  _ belief _ , and they were like day and night.

In front of him, glittering in the lights of the city, were two trails of silver dust. For two people. Leading down the dock from the wall and back up again, one trail stopping at his feet, the other leading right up to Gwen.

Like magic.

Cuphead was speechless. He looked up at Gwen, but she apparently hadn’t noticed, instead looking up at the sky with a soft, hopeful smile he’d never actually seen on her before. Not like this. The snow swirled around her like feathers from a crazy pillow fight. Cup glanced back at the dock and already the dust was disappearing under the new flurries - a secret sight that no one would get to see besides him - and when he turned back to her, Gwen’s light eyes met his. Her silky straight hair fluttered in the wind.

Cup’s body moved without his mind’s consent, setting down the stuff he was holding and walking towards her. He noticed Gwen turn slightly to face him. He lifted a hand to cup her face, brushing her cheek with his thumb. His fingers carefully tilted her face up as he leaned forward.

And kissed her.

… 

… 

…

As it turns out, there’s no better way to thaw a face than with another face.

* * *

 

Gwen sat on her bed in her room at the house, sighing as her heart started its giddy race again. Alice’s voice sounded in her head.  _ So how’d it go? _

Gwen grinned. Nothing wrong in having a little fun, right?  _ Yawn, stretch. Long day. Think I’ll turn in now. _

There was a long pause. Gwen assumed Andy and Cala were asleep.

_ THAT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY! _

Gwen winced.  _ Not even a little? _

__ _ TELL ME SOMETHING GOOD RIGHT NOW! _

_ Let’s see. Something good. _ Gwen tapped a finger against her chin, even though she knew Alice couldn’t see.  _ Okay; magic silver dust. _

_ … what? _

__ _ Used the second-to-last scuppy to make trails of silver dust appear in the snow. _

__ _ … of course. Um. W-who wouldn’t? _

__ _ And when Cup saw them, I’m assuming fireworks went off in his brain. And then he kissed me. _

__ Alice gasped. _ Kissing!! What else happened? Come on, details!  _ There was a pause. _ This better not turn you into someone who collects heart-shaped rocks or something. _

Gwen rolled her eyes with a smile.  _ Yeah? Well, I’m -  _ A knock at her door cut her off. She got up to answer it. “I’m totally gonna make heart-shaped rock collections cool,” she said without looking to see who it was. “Don’t doubt that I can do it.” She finally looked.

And it wasn’t Alice.

Cuphead looked back, almost surprised, before smirking. “That’s uncanny, ‘cause I was just thinking of starting a collage that’s just photos of my hands making heart shapes around different stuff. Like dog noses and funny art.” Gwen was paralyzed, her brain kicking into damage-assessment mode. She slowly relaxed as she realized that what she said could’ve been a  _ million _ times more embarrassing. Also,  _ Cuphead was right there. _ Trying to make it better. “And balloons stuck in trees,” he continued. “And ducks in bathtubs.” 

“And clouds shaped like handguns,” Gwen contributed.

“Stars,  _ yes _ .” The two continued back and forth, and by the end of the talk Gwen kinda felt like they were half-serious about the whole heart-hands collage thing. In spite of Gwen’s attempts to hijack it in a goofy direction, she had to admit it was a pretty sweet idea, especially with Cup pressing on undaunted with things like “surprised ostriches”, even though she was half sur he was joking too.

“I should let you sleep,” he said quietly. “I just wanted to say good night.”

Gwen leaned against the door frame sleepily. “Good night,” she murmured, tired and happy with a kind of happiness that went from bone-deep contentment - luxurious and almost lazy, like a hot bath - to fizzing, sparkler-in-the-heart-hole happiness that woke u[ new parts of her brain and was teaching them dance steps.

Cup lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck nervously. “And I wanted to make sure you didn’t think I … that I hesitated before because I didn’t want to kiss you.”

“No,” Gwen said, even though she had doubted a little for a few moments in the boat. She knew now, though, and there wasn’t a molecule in her that though the kiss was forced or reluctant. The kiss spoke for itself. It erased all doubt. “It’s okay. It couldn’t’ve been orchestrated. It had to just happen.”

He smiled at her. “I’m glad it did,” he murmured.

“Me too.”

He stared at her for a moment before taking a step forward. He paused, then leaned in carefully and pressed his lips against hers. She smiled a little, kissing him back gently. It was just like she remembered. Like tea and cinnamon, and slightly like smoke. Cake too, but that was new. They broke apart after a while, foreheads touching.

And then there was a stomping sound. The two turned curiously towards the stairs as Alice came down them. “Whyyyyyyy are you  _ torturing _ mee - oh,” she moaned, cutting herself off when she saw them. Cuphead stepped away from Gwen so fast gwen wasn’t sure if he stepped or teleported. Gwen’s face heated up. “I, um, uh … sorry, I - I’ll just … um .. go back up to bed.” Alice pointed upstairs and quickly ran, light-footed, back up, only pausing once to turn and wave sheepishly at them. “Bye.” Gwen dropped her face into her hands once the angel was gone.   
“Oh, cuss. I’m so sorry,” she apologized, her voice muffled. She slowly pulled her head up to look at Cuphead. He shrugged.

“It’s okay. She ain’t gonna tell, right?” Gwen shook her head. She’d made all three of the other girls swear to secrecy. “Then it’s fine.” He pulled her into a gentle hug and brushed a kiss against the top of her head. “See ya in the morning.”

“Night.” And then he was gone, down the other flight of steps. She sighed, turning back into her room and wondering if she was light-headed in a bad way or actually swooning for the first time in her life.

Gwen flopped on the bed, letting the night replay in her head. The candles, the boat, the  _ cake _ . If being in a relationship with Cuphead meant cake, then she was definitely twice as into the idea.

Her mind drifted to the kiss. The one on the docks, not in the hall, because the one in the hall had ended … embarrassingly. She winced at the mere thought of it before going back to the docks.  _ That _ one had been … amazing. Of course, it had started out as frozen-faced numbness before softness, and sweet. She wasn’t exactly sure how long it had been, somewhere between two minutes and twenty, and while it never stopped being sweet, it did start becoming … energetic in a way. Neve energetic. Stars, Gwen didn’t even know how to explain it.

Gwen was the one who - sigh - eventually had to end it because they were both breathless and she’d apparently begun to shiver uncontrollably. She didn’t remember being cold though, and the way they’d looked at each other after the kiss - like  _ oh, hi _ \- was absolutely dazzled. Ensorcelled.

So that was, you know, nice.

Alice spoke up again as Gwen had just started to drift off.  _ Are you awake? _

She groaned.  _ If I say no, are you gonna keep talking? _

__ _ Sorry. I wanted to apologize. For earlier. _

_ S’okay. _ Gwen couldn’t stay mad at the angel.

_ So, um … if the second-to-last scuppy was the dust, then what was the last?  _ Gwen sat up, looking over at it, sitting on the bedside table. She hadn’t needed it.

Well, she hadn’t really  _ needed _ any of them, but she was glad she had them. Because how else would she have pulled the night off? At least until the point when the night took over, with a  _ little  _ of Cuphead’s help, and began to pull itself off. That’s what everyone hopes, right? For life to take over and be bigger and more marvelous than anyone could ever dream.

Life didn’t need magic to be magical.

(Though, in Gwen’s opinion, a little sure didn’t hurt.)

Gwen smiled, glad she had the one last scuppy if she ever needed to use it. Or just keep.  _ Still have it _ , she thought to Alice.  _ Saving it for a rainy day. _ She let herself drift off, wondering what her rainy days would be like now. Hopefully as good as her snowy ones, especially this snowy one.

She was gonna need a bigger umbrella.


End file.
